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Updated: Nov 12, 2025
Author Spotlight: A 3D Digital Model for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Nodules
Published on: May 19, 2023
A three-dimensional printing navigational template combined with mixed reality technique for localizing pulmonary
Rui Fu1,2, Chao Zhang1, Tao Zhang1,2
1Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Objectives:
Localizing non-palpable pulmonary nodules is challenging for thoracic surgeons. Here, we investigated the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology combined with mixed reality (MR) for localizing ground glass opacity-dominant pulmonary nodules.
Methods:
In this single-arm study, we prospectively enrolled patients with small pulmonary nodules (<2 cm) that required accurate localization. A 3D-printing physical navigational template was designed based on the reconstruction of computed tomography images, and a 3D model was generated through the MR glasses. We set the deviation distance as the primary end point for efficacy evaluation. Clinicopathological and surgical data were obtained for further analysis.
Results:
Sixteen patients with 17 non-palpable pulmonary nodules were enrolled in this study. Sixteen nodules were localized successfully (16/17; 94.1%) using this novel approach with a median deviation of 9 mm. The mean time required for localization was 25 ± 5.2 min. For the nodules in the upper/middle and lower lobes, the median deviation was 6 mm (range, 0-12.0) and 16 mm (range, 15.0-20.0), respectively. The deviation difference between the groups was significant (Z = -2.957, P = 0.003). The pathological evaluation of resection margins was negative.
Conclusions:
The 3D printing navigational template combined with MR can be a feasible approach for localizing pulmonary nodules.
